EREPORT.RU

The World Economy

The Lastest Macroeconomic News

26.10.2007 21:34 US new home sales rose 4.8 percent in September 2007

Sales of new single-family homes rose 4.8 percent in September but sales in August were revised down sharply according to a government report on Thursday that painted a mixed picture of the battered housing sector. New single-family home sales set an annual rate of 770,000 units in September, up from a downwardly revised rate of 735,000 in August, the Commerce Department said. Analysts had expected a 10,000 drop from the previously reported 780,000.
While sales were weak, the inventory of homes fell and the median sales price rose. In September, the median sales price of a new home rose 2.5 percent to $238,000 from $232,100 in August, a month that saw the slowest sales pace in 11 years. There were 523,000 new homes for sale at the end of the month, a 1.5 percent drop from August. It would take 8.3 months to clear that inventory at the current sales pace, down from the 9 months supply reported in August.
Sales for the month were off 23.3 percent from a year ago. Across the regions, sales were mostly down although the West did see a 37.7 increase. In the Midwest, sales were off 19.5 percent and down 6.6 percent in the Northeast. Sales were up 0.5 percent in the South. The report comes a day after a realty trade association said sales of previously owned homes fell 8 percent to a record low 5.04 million unit pace amid troubles in the subprime mortgage market.

23.10.2007 20:31 Japan`s industrial output up 3.5 percent in August from the previous month

Japan`s industrial output rose by 3.5 percent in August from the previous month, slightly better than previously reported, the government said. An initial estimate last month had shown production growing by 3.4 percent after a dip in July when an earthquake hit automobile production. Shipments increased 4.9 percent in August, against a preliminary reading of a 4.3 percent rise, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said. Inventories rose a revised 0.2 percent, below the preliminary estimate of a 0.3 percent gain. Japan`s economy, the second largest in the world, is gradually recovering from a slump stretching back over a decade. But there are concerns about the impact of slowing exports to the United States. A drop in corporate capital investment also caused Japan`s gross domestic product to contract in the second quarter of this year.

20.10.2007 21:28 US September industrial production up 0.1 pct, capacity utilisation 82.1 pct

US industrial production rose 0.1 pct in September as a pick-up in manufacturing of business and high-technology equipment offset declines at auto plants and utilities. The Federal Reserve`s report also put September`s plant capacity utilisation rate at 82.1 pct. Analysts were expecting the 0.1 pct rise in production and an operating rate of 82.2 pct. August production was revised down to no change from the 0.2 pct first reported, and capacity use was cut a tenth of a percentage point to 82.1 pct. Utility output fell 0.1 pct in September after the second-warmest August since 1900 had produced a 4.6 pct increase that month. Manufacturing overall was up 0.1 pct last month, rebounding from a 0.4 pct decline in August. Mining output rose 0.2 pct after falling 0.6 pct in August. Year-on-year, US industrial production was up 1.9 pct last month.

Russia`s industrial output went up 6.6 percent in the first nine months of the year as compared to the same period of 2006, the the Federal State Statistics Service reported. In September, the country`s industrial production increased by 3.0 percent versus September 2006. In January-September, growth in the mining of natural resources was 2.2 percent versus the same period in 2006 and the output in Russia`s processing industries increased by 10.0 percent. In the period under review, oil and gas condensate production grew 2.5 percent versus the same period in 2006 and reached 367 million tonnes, production of natural gas in the country decreased by 1.3 percent to 478 billion cubic meters, while coal production went up by 0.6 percent to 225 million tonnes. According to statistics, electricity generation grew by 1.3 percent in January-September 2007 and reached 731 billion kilowatt-hours, while production of thermal energy reduced by 7.2 percent to 938 million Gcal. In the months under review, production of cars went up by 9.1 percent to 936,000 vehicles, production of trucks increased by 16.3 percent to 206,000 vehicles, and output of buses decreased by 6.8 percent to 61,000 units. In the first nine months of the year, Russia`s bread and baked goods production lowered by two percent to 5.7 million tonnes, meat production increased by 17 percent to 1.8 million tonnes, and production of whole milk goods went up by 1.1 percent to 7.6 million tonnes.

France`s statistics office Insee said it now sees euro zone GDP increasing by 2.6 pct in 2007. Insee`s forecast was the same with economist`s expectations and just under the European Commission`s and IMF`s estimates. The IMF`s forecast for the euro zone was trimmed to 2.3 percent from a previous 2.5 percent projection, the news agencies reported last week. The European Commission last week lowered its forecast for 2007 euro zone growth to 2.5 percent from 2.6 percent due to a weak second quarter and a preliminary assessment of the impact of the market turbulence since August.
The Commission said the turmoil on financial markets "could imply a more marked deceleration" in 2008. The European Commission (EC) also expects that euro zone GDP growth will be 0.5% q/q in the third and fourth quarters. The EC said that economic fundamentals are still sound and the global business environment remains supportive. The EC added that the effects of the credit crunch are likely to felt only next year.

05.10.2007 23:39 Statistics service said Russia`s inflation at 7.5% in Jan-Sep 2007

Consumer price inflation in Russia amounted to 7.5% in January-September, the Federal State Statistics Service said. Consumer price inflation in September amounted to 0.8%. Core inflation, which eliminates the influence of one-time events, administrative actions and seasonal fluctuations, amounted to 6.7% in January-September and to 1.6% in September. In January-September, prices of services rose 11.6%, prices of manufactured goods rose 4%, prices of foodstuffs rose 8.1%, and prices of foodstuffs, excluding fruit and vegetables, also rose 8.1%. In September, prices of services rose 0.4%, prices of manufactured goods rose 0.8%, prices of foodstuffs rose 1%, and prices of foodstuffs, excluding fruit and vegetables, rose 2.2%. In Moscow, inflation was at 0.5% in September and at 6.8% in January-September, while in St. Petersburg inflation was at 0.5% in September and at 8.1% in January-September. In 2006, consumer prices rose 9%, which was on the government`s target for the year. The government`s official inflation forecast for 2007 is 8%.

Global manufacturing growth fell sharply in September as new orders growth cooled dramatically, a global indicator based on national surveys of manufacturers showed. The indicator, produced by JP Morgan with research and supply management organisations, fell to 52.3 in September from 53.1 in August, its lowest level in just over two years. Production growth hit a 22-month low in the euro zone, while it cooled to its lowest since March in the United States. The global new orders index fell to a 28-month low of 52.5 from 53.9 in August, with the euro zone particularly hard hit. "Manufacturers appear to be responding to slower demand growth and credit market tightening by curtailing the growth of new orders and inventory," said David Hensley, director of research at JP Morgan. The employment index rose marginally to 52.2 in September from 52.0 the previous month, with hiring up across all major economies. The index combines survey data from countries including the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia.

29.09.2007 12:05 U.S. consumer sentiment remains low in September

The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers found U.S. consumer sentiment essentially unchanged this month, at its lowest level in 13 months, as lower gasoline prices failed to buoy an economy weighed down by the credit crunch and real estate slump, according to Bloomberg News. The surveys` final index of consumer sentiment in September was 83.4 points (2000 = 100 points), edging down slightly from this month’s preliminary reading of 83.8 points and the August reading of 83.7 points to its lowest level since August 2006. For the first eight months of the year, the average reading was 83.9. The index had been expected to rise to 84 points, according to the median forecast of 58 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The Reuters/University of Michigan current conditions index – reflecting Americans` perceptions of their own current finances – fell to 97.9 points from last month’s 98.4. But the surveys` expectations index – reflecting consumers` view of the economy in the months ahead – rebounded slightly, rising to 74.1 points this month from 73.7 in August.

Russia`s GDP grew 7.7 percent in January to August of this year vs. 6.2 percent a year earlier, signaled the survey of current economic situation elaborated by the RF Economic Development Ministry. Russia`s economy maintained the accelerating rates in summer, though the pace slowed down in August vs the speed manifested in May through July. The August growth in GDP was just 6.4 percent. Less seasonal and calendar factors, the monthly growth in GDP was still rather high (0.7 percent a month on average from January through August of 2007). The economy accelerated on high rates of investment growth, construction, consumer demand coupled with increasing impact of imports in meeting domestic demand in the environment of some slowdown in processing industries and exports. Russia`s industrial production grew 7.0 percent in Junuary to August compared to 4.3 percent a year earlier. In August industrial production grew only 3.8 percent. Economic Development Ministry also provided the inflation estimate for January through September, saying the inflation was 7 percent to 7.1 percent during the period. Consumer inflation went down to 0.1 percent in August because of the seasonal drop in prices for fruit and vegetables from 0.9 percent to 1 percent posted in June through July. The inflation was 6.7 percent from early this year (vs. 7.1 percent a year ago) and 8.6 percent for a year`s period (August 2007 to August 2006). At the same time, the external surplus of Russia shed 17.9 percent on year to $82.1 billion in January through August 2007. Exports reached $216.9 billion, while imports stood at $134.8 billion.

27.09.2007 21:28 US economic growth in Q2 2007 revised down to annual rate of 3.8% from earlier estimate of 4.0%

The US economy grew at an annual rate of 3.8 percent in the second quarter, following 0.6-percent growth in the first quarter, according to the "final" estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The second-quarter growth rate was revised down from the "preliminary" estimate of 4.0 percent. The acceleration in real GDP growth reflected upturns in net exports, Federal government spending, and inventory investment; an acceleration in business investment; and a smaller decrease in residential home investment. In contrast, consumer spending decelerated sharply. The downward revision to GDP growth reflected updated estimates of net exports and business spending for structures; both were smaller than previously estimated. In contrast, business investment in equipment and software was higher than previously estimated.